Temari
| english = }} is the oldest child of the Fourth Kazekage, making her the older sister of Gaara and Kankuro. Personality Temari is generally overbearing, if not crude, toward those around her, often not being afraid to speak her mind. Temari does have a caring side, and is not above showing concern for others. Temari also seems to value peace, as she questioned the reasoning of starting a war with Konoha. Three years after Sasuke's defection of Konoha, Temari became a Jonin along with Kankuro, and acts as a liaison between Sunagakure and Konoha, working with the village in preparations for the next Chunin Exams. Like Kankuro, her relations with Gaara have greatly improved, though she isn't as close as the two brothers. When Gaara was captured by the Akatsuki, Temari hurried back to the village to save her brother, and when Kankuro was poisoned, she watched over him until he was ready to move himself. Many of Temari's appearances are associated with Shikamaru Nara. They first face off in the Chunin Exams. Shikamaru proves a superior strategist and is in a position to win, but forfeits the match when he runs low on chakra, much to the shock of Temari. When the Sand Siblings are sent to aid Konoha in the Retrieval of Sasuke, she comes to Shikamaru's defense in his battle with Tayuya. When Naruto returns to Konoha and sees the two of them together, he asked them if they were on a date, which both of them denied. Part I Chunin Exam arc During the preliminary matches of the Chunin Exams, Temari is pitted against Tenten. Tenten begins the match by throwing wave after wave of weapons at Temari, though Temari easily blows them away with her fan. As Tenten runs out of weapons, Temari uses her fan to trap Tenten in a cyclone and propel her into the air. As the cyclone disperses and Tenten falls to the ground, Temari makes it a point to have Tenten land on her closed fan, knocking Tenten unconscious. Even after she was declared the winner of the match, she throws Tenten off of the fan in attempt to have her land on the many weapons on the ground. However, Rock Lee jumps in to save Tenten before she hits the ground. It should be noted that the fight was entirely skipped in the manga, cutting from the start to the victory without showing what happened in between. During the final rounds of the Chunin Exam, Temari is matched against Shikamaru Nara. Knowing Shikamaru to use shadows to trap his opponents, Temari makes sure to stay out of his shadow's range. Despite this precaution on Temari's part, Shikamaru uses various tactics to increase the distance his shadow can reach, all the while buying time for the sun to set and give him more shadows to work with. As Temari evades his attacks and prepares to finish the match, she is caught by his shadow, Shikamaru having navigated her to a position where he could easily trap her without her notice. Although Shikamaru appears to be in a position where he can win the match, he forfeits, having exerted too much chakra in capturing Temari to fight later battles. When the invasion of Konoha begins, Temari is forced to help Gaara flee the village. In the anime, when Sasuke Uchiha begins to pursue them, Temari stays behind in an effort to slow Sasuke down, though he defeats her with little effort. After Gaara is defeated, Temari and Kankuro carry him home. Sasuke Retrieval arc At the request of the Fifth Hokage, Temari and her brothers come to the aid of those sent out to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. Temari arrives to help Shikamaru in his fight against Tayuya. She asks Shikamaru for information on Tayuya, though after explaining Tayuya's abilities, Shikamaru replies that they should retreat. Uninterested in Shikamaru's opinion, Temari summons Kamatari, who levels the surrounding forest which causes a tree to fall on Tayuya, killing her. She then appears in the Konoha medical center, first criticizing Shikamaru for his lack of emotional control, but later appearing relieved for Shikamaru's sake when the news comes that his teammates will survive their injuries. Anime filler arcs In episode 217-219 when one of Gaara's students is kidnapped by the Shiitenshounin, Temari and Kankuro join him in rescuing her. In doing so, Temari is forced to fight another woman with abilities similar to her own. Although she is able to hold her own for a while, her opponent's abilities begin to counter her own, quickly overwhelming her. Just as Temari is about to be killed, Shikamaru and Ino arrive to help, and Shikamaru and Temari quickly begin bickering. After combining their talents, Temari and Shikamaru are able to defeat their opponent. Part II Temari is first seen when Shikamaru enters the Hokage office, and is at first not recognized by Naruto, and is also believed to be his opponent. It is later revealed that she is constantly traveling in between the two villages working as a liaison in preparations for the upcoming Chunin Exams. Because she and Shikamaru are in each other's company when Naruto initially meets them, he also suspects that they are dating, which both of them deny. Rescue Gaara arc Upon learning that Gaara has been kidnapped by Akatsuki, Temari joins Team 7 in rushing to Sunagakure. Upon arriving, Temari finds Kankuro to have been gravely injured in his attempt to rescue Gaara. Wanting to save her brothers, Temari plans to join Team 7 in rescuing Gaara, though Chiyo volunteers in her place. Once Kankuro is well enough to walk, he sets out with Temari to catch up with Team 7. When Gaara is found and revived, Temari joins Kankuro in thanking Team 7 for saving their brother. Abilities Temari is a keen analyst, and can easily deduce an opponent's strategies and weaknesses soon after a battle begins. She's second only to Shikamaru who could calculate and analyze her every move during the finals of the Chunin Exam. For actual combat she uses her giant iron fan that, in addition to serving as a makeshift club, can be used to glide upon in order to intimidate her foes. Inscribed on her fan are three purple circles spaced equally across its length, which she calls "stars" ("moons" in the English dub). As she opens the fan to reveal each star in sequence, the fan's power increases greatly. Once all three stars are revealed, Temari can use her Cutting Whirlwind Technique or the more powerful Great Cutting Whirlwind Technique to create slicing whirlwinds. Because she can guide these forces with her chakra, she can easily use them to attack her opponents from great distances. Temari's fan is also capable of creating tornadoes, and with her Wind Release: Severing Pressure she can trap opponents and cut them in the process. In addition, her fan can be used to catch opponents off guard, and with she can create a wind current to blanket the area in dust, making it difficult for an opponent to stand once it has settled. Temari can also summon Kamatari, a one-eyed weasel summoned with her fan. Kamatari serves to aid her in battle, particularly by creating strong gusts of wind to attack her opponents. Over the timeskip, Temari rises to the rank of Jonin, indicating that she has put a great deal of effort into honing her abilities. Other Media * Temari is a playable in the Naruto video games, appearing in 5 out of 7 games. She makes a cameo in Naruto: Shippūden the Movie along with Shikamaru. Trivia * In the omake at the end of Shippuden episode 75 (The Old Monk's Prayer), Shikamaru tells Asuma that Naruto Shippuden will now be called 'Shikamaru Shippuden'. The logo appears with the title and two silhouettes appear facing each other. One is Shikamaru and the other is Temari.